Drawing on their extensive experience, a dozen respected scholars examine the state of the art of group care in Israel. In addition, they highlight major implications of the Israeli experience for child and youth care services worldwide, suggesting ideas for the development of more effective patterns of community and residential care in the West. Successful in alleviating developmental deficits and maximizing the contributions of the country's most talented young people, the acclaimed Israeli approach to group care is thoroughly addressed here. The authors analyze the complex interaction between culture and residential group care, the importance of the role of the parents, and the public policy considerations related to residential care. This informative and useful volume will contribute to the enhancement of programs and services for young people everywhere.
Residential Education as an Option for At-Risk Youth explores recent residential programs in Israel, draws comparisons with their European counterparts, and recommends practical approaches for the revitalization of such programs in the United States. This volume refutes the conventional professional “wisdom” in the United States that residential group care programs for children and youth are intrinsically flawed and counterproductive. Instead, it delivers effective models for the implementation of effective residential services. The editors and authors demonstrate the growing need for residential programs, given the overburdened family foster care resources, swelling numbers of “zero-parent” families, and homeless youth. Though the United States helped launch and develop residential services in Europe in the aftermath of World War II and has produced many excellent thinkers in the domain of quality residential group care, American programs have languished in recent decades. This book is designed to accelerate and facilitate progress in revamping and establishing excellent residential group care. The authors examine residential education as a developmentally based alternative to the more clinically and correctionally oriented programs for marginal children and youth dominating this field in the United States.The authors present their material in the context of appropriate theoretical principles, yet in practical ways that will permit program developers and managers to implement it effectively. Some of the specific areas chapters discuss are: exemplary Israeli programs as observed by visiting American professional in social work and allied fields important program variables and the cultural influences that may affect them African American experience for such programs a conceptual model for building successful residential education programs key organizational and management considerationsResidential Education as an Option for At-Risk Youth serves as a vital resource for ambitious program developers and managers wishing to reconceptualize and enrich their programs. It will also benefit advanced students, practitioners, and decision makers who have had, heretofore, few resources to rely on when seeking to promote more effective programs for socially marginal children and youth.
In this readable book, Zvi Levy, Hadassim's Director, provides a careful account of how, over time, he and others have shaped a community to foster health, identity, and competence in distressed young people. Canadian WIZO (Women's International Zionist Organization) Hadassim is a thriving youth village in Israel that is home for 500 young people and a day educational program for an additional 1,000. Negotiating Positive Identity in a Residential Group Care Community illustrates the organizational expression of a developmental idea, in this case Erik Erikson's identity development theory, to show how an environment can be created to cope with disrupted development processes among children and adolescents. The book describes an ongoing experiment that started fifteen years ago and has since been recognized as an outstanding success. The basic information and ideas expressed by Levy can be used to improve the effectiveness of any framework through which adolescents pass during the stages of development, including schools, community centers, and normal families. Some of the main topics discussed in this volume are: principles for running a multicultural facility organization of the daily life of a large residential setting major parameters in a residential setting as derived from the theories of Erik Erikson on adolescence as a developmental stage comprehensive care for youth in transition and adolescents suffering from aggravated identity crises All child and youth care workers and program administrators can learn much from Levy's account of Hadassim. Negotiating Positive Identity in a Residential Group Care Community will be disturbing to many who adhere to the current tenets of good management and child care practice; readers need to be prepared to have many assumptions and beliefs challenged. The book emphasizes the distress of immigrant and troubled urban youth as an aggravated identity crisis, the cause of which needs to be treated before the symptom. This volume is of interest to theoreticians, practitioners, and policymakers in the fields of education, child and youth care, and developmental psychology, as well as scholars in Erikson's theories. It is also useful in courses which study education in Israel or that seek solutions to problems such as homeless youth in the Third World. Negotiating Positive Identity in a Residential Group Care Community stresses that: The answer to deprivation is not the provision of efficient services, but an environment and an approach that encourages adolescents to see themselves as active participants and not as patients or passive inmates. Residential settings for children and adolescents can successfully handle large numbers and, in fact, larger numbers can offer some definite advantages. The best way to help children develop into autonomous adults is to give them responsibility for their own choices within the framework of a goal-oriented community.
A recognized leader in the professional development of the child and youth care field presents--in this single volume--a collection of his work related to group care work with children and youth. Henry Maier shares his observations about human development in the group care context, the perceptions of children and youth, the environments in which we work with them, the role of the worker, and the preparation of child and youth care workers. Dr. Maier’s practical approaches reflect the most recent research and thinking in human development. This book is a practical text for courses in the child and youth field, as well as a useful handbook for child and youth caseworkers already on the job. BACKCOVER COPY In what way can group care--non-familial living--assure children a developmental progress similar to that of children growing up within regular family care settings? In his practical new text, Henry Maier--one of the most vibrant, creative, and humane figures in child and youth care work today--answers that question for child care professionals using a developmental perspective in his approach to residential group care. He focuses on the developmental requirements of children and adolescents in relation to the care they receive while they are in no-familial, group living situations and also highlights training for the caregivers in order that they can effectively provide the kind of caring involvement that children and youth require. “The real contribution of this book . . . is that it cuts throught the confusion of competing values and competing points of view to focus on the care at the heart of child care work,” attests Richard W. Small, PhD, Executive Director of the Walker Home and School, Needham, Massachusetts (from the Preface).
From open and straightforward accounts of residential care workers, The Occupational Experience of Residential Child and Youth Care Workers shows you how care is handled, not how it should be handled. This book introduces you to a social reality, a sometimes very difficult and challenging social reality, as it is viewed by its participants. If you want to know more about what is actually going on in residential care and the discontent that workers frequently experience, this is the book that lays out the facts, the problems, and the nature of residential youth centers. The Occupational Experience of Residential Child and Youth Care Workers broaches the problem of tension between workers and residents and hopes that bringing the problem out into the open will be a first step toward a solution. You learn that the very arrangement of residential care automatically sets up antagonism between the sole group care worker and his/her wards; residents tend to resist the inherently coercive efforts of the worker who tries to bring them through processes of change and socialization. The Occupational Experience of Residential Child and Youth Care Workers will make you think about: residential care and conflicts group interaction career satisfaction and dissatisfaction interpretive sociology of education and its methodology social control Interviews with Israeli residential care workers are presented to help you understand the circumstances under which residential care providers experience discontent, or job dissatisfaction. You learn which workers are most likely to feel discontented and how staff members cope with the stress and discontent they experience. Youth care workers, policymakers, child-care staff recruiters, supervisors, and trainers will find this book sheds much light on the problem of discontent and the need to make child and youth care facilities more humane for residents and staff alike. It will also help social work educators and researchers in sociology, social work, and the social psychology of education get in touch with what goes on inside the walls of residential care centers.
From open and straightforward accounts of residential care workers, The Occupational Experience of Residential Child and Youth Care Workers shows you how care is handled, not how it should be handled. This book introduces you to a social reality, a sometimes very difficult and challenging social reality, as it is viewed by its participants. If you want to know more about what is actually going on in residential care and the discontent that workers frequently experience, this is the book that lays out the facts, the problems, and the nature of residential youth centers.The Occupational Experience of Residential Child and Youth Care Workers broaches the problem of tension between workers and residents and hopes that bringing the problem out into the open will be a first step toward a solution. You learn that the very arrangement of residential care automatically sets up antagonism between the sole group care worker and his/her wards; residents tend to resist the inherently coercive efforts of the worker who tries to bring them through processes of change and socialization. The Occupational Experience of Residential Child and Youth Care Workers will make you think about: residential care and conflicts group interaction career satisfaction and dissatisfaction interpretive sociology of education and its methodology social control Interviews with Israeli residential care workers are presented to help you understand the circumstances under which residential care providers experience discontent, or job dissatisfaction. You learn which workers are most likely to feel discontented and how staff members cope with the stress and discontent they experience. Youth care workers, policymakers, child-care staff recruiters, supervisors, and trainers will find this book sheds much light on the problem of discontent and the need to make child and youth care facilities more humane for residents and staff alike. It will also help social work educators and researchers in sociology, social work, and the social psychology of education get in touch with what goes on inside the walls of residential care centers.
Learn to follow the rhythms of building a relationship with youth at risk Themes and Stories in Youth Work Practice takes a refreshing look at the creative possibilities of working with youth in a variety of group care and developmental settings. Author Mark Krueger presents an innovative approach to developing relationships through shared experiences that plays out like modern dance, choreographed according to individual needs and strengths but always open to improvisations that follow the rhythms of life. The book also promotes a framework of understanding youth work through personal stories constructed alone and together by youth and youth workers. Themes and Stories in Youth Work Practice offers a unique perspective on theory and practice as it examines human interaction as an interpersonal, inter-subjective, and contextual process. The book recounts a day in the life of a youth worker, examines qualitative inquiries conducted by youth workers, recalls personal stories, and addresses the ways youth workers' experiences influence their interactions with youth. Counselors working in community centers, group homes, treatment centers, and community and group care programs will discover how to use the interactive dance between workers and youth at risk to create human compositions, advancing the story and getting a feel of where they are in moments of connection, discovery, and empowerment. From the author: “Youth work is like a modern dance. We bring ourselves to the moment and try to interact in synch with youths' rhythms for trusting and growing. As we interact, we are in a sense, in—and passing through—youth. The challenge is to know ourselves so that we can know each other, and this comes about in part through a constant exploration of our stories. It also comes about when we are in youth work with youth, learning how to dance.” Geared toward experienced youth workers but equally relevant for students and anyone new to the field, Themes and Stories in Youth Work Practice is an enlightening read for anyone working in, or for, residential treatment centers, group homes, shelters, foster care, juvenile justice programs, community-based youth serving organizations, after school programs, recreation programs, camps, churches, and neighborhood centers.
In this informative volume, a selection of qualitative studies on group care serves to illuminate the intricacies of life in group care environments. The high quality contributions illustrate the variety of styles in qualitative research as well as the social functions it can play--from factual description to social warning.
Learn what children living in group homes need most! Pain, Normality, and the Struggle for Congruence: Reinterpreting Residential Care for Children and Youth presents the results of a 14-month study of 10 staffed group homes in British Columbia. The book uses grounded theory to construct a theoretical model that speaks to the primary challenge care workers face each day—responding to pain and pain-based behavior in residents. It combines participant observations, transcribed interviews, and document analysis to develop a core theme of congruence, several major psychosocial processes, and 11 interactional dynamics identified as being fundamental to group home life. The study brings to light several neglected aspects of residential care and proposes new directions in policy development, education, practice, and research to create an integrated and accessible framework for understanding group home life for youths. Pain, Normality, and the Struggle for Congruence: Reinterpreting Residential Care for Children and Youth is a full and rigorous examination of the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of residential group care. The study—conducted during a time of heightened sensitivity to the rights of children and increased emphasis on accountability and outcome measurement—reveals a core theme of congruence, focusing on consistency, reciprocity, and coherence. The book examines the major elements of this theme, including: creating an extra-familial living environment developing a sense of normality listening and responding with respect establishing a structure, routine, and expectations offering emotional and developmental support respecting personal space and time discovering potential communicating a framework for understanding and much more! Pain, Normality, and the Struggle for Congruence: Reinterpreting Residential Care for Children and Youth provides professionals concerned with the development and treatment of children and young people with a unique understanding of group home life and work. From the Foreword, by Dr. Barney Glaser: I am honored and delighted to be asked by Jim Anglin to write the foreword to this grounded theory text... The purpose of this grounded theory is to construct a theoretical framework that would explain and account for well-functioning staffed group homes for young people, that in turn could serve as a basis for improved practice, policy development, education and training, research, and evaluation. THE READER WILL SEE THAT ANGLIN HAS ACHIEVED HIS GOAL WITH ADMIRABLE SUCCESS. . . . HIS GROUNDED THEORY TRULY MAKES A SCHOLARLY CONTRIBUTION TO THE LITERATURE.
This analysis of direct care institutions focuses on the organization and culture of the institution, rather than its given psychological or educational approach. It features practical strategies for the organization of institutional settings, and suggests a scheme for quality of life.
